Brooks Hatch

Updated at 9:15 a.m. Sunday:

The Blog missed Oregon State’s blowout of Washington on Saturday because  the PNG Jr. had a President’s Cup soccer playoff game at Sprague High (BTW, bang-up job today by the ref and AR. Not really).

Sunday add: We watched the game on DVR on Saturday night. Obviously the Seattle-based production crew was determined to show one sideline shot of UW defensive coordinator Nick Holt for every point the Huskies gave up.

Seriously, for a minute I thought I was watching an NBC broadcast of a Notre Dame game, where the network is contractually obligated to show a sideline shot of Irish coach Charlie Weis -perhaps the least-television-friendly man in college football — at least 4,000 times in a three-hour period.

And as for Saturday, a perfect day, or what? Richmond wins, Army wins, Wyoming wins, Alfred wins, everything goes perfectly to keep the hometown team alive in the Rose Bowl chase, and the Irish lose. Should have bought a Powerball ticket too.

Anyhow, we had the radio on throughout and when it was over, an unbelievable thought struck me:

No Oregon State football player who joined the program in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 or 2009 has EVER lost to the University of Washington.

As a longtime Corvallis resident, fully familiar with how Washington had dominated the Northwest football scene for decades, that’s simply unbelievable.

And, giving equal credit, the same applies to 2004-09 signees from Oregon. The Beavers and Ducks are a combined 12-0 in their last dozen games against the Huskies.

And lest anyone from Washington be so stupid as to complain about OSU “running up the score” today because its starters were in for at least half of the fourth quarter: Jake Locker played the entire game. And last I checked, he’s Washington’s starting QB.

In sports, as in politics, the loser concedes. You want the opponent to back off? Then pull your own starters.

—————————–

The Beavers’ women’s soccer team continues its amazing season today with a 10 a.m. game against Florida at Columbus  in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Here’s a brief preview:

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Oregon State women’s soccer team will attempt to prolong its record-breaking season this morning when it faces Florida in the second round of the NCAA tournament at the Columbus subregional.

Kickoff is set for 10 a.m. at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the Ohio State campus. The Beavers (13-7-1) eliminated the host Buckeyes 3-1 on Friday night behind two goals by junior Courtney Wetzel; the Gators (16-5-2) ousted Illinois State 2-0 in the other first-round game.

It will be the first-ever meeting between the Beavers, who tied Washington for fifth place in the Pacific-10 Conference, and the Gators. Florida won the SEC regular-season championship but then lost to South Carolina in the semifinals of the conference tournament.

Each team lost 3-0 to UCLA. The Beavers played the Bruins in Los Angeles; the Gators’ game was on a neutral field at the University of Illinois in a tournament.

“One of the things that we can expect from Florida is that it is going to be a physical game,” second-year coach Linus Rhode said. “The girls will take away from (the Ohio State victory) that they can win at this level.
“Winning (Friday) 3-1 is a big margin for soccer, so they have the confidence going into (today).”

The victory over the Buckeyes was the first for the Beavers’ in an NCAA tournament. They lost 3-0 to Washington in 1994 in their only previous postseason appearance.

Today’s winner plays the victor of today’s Notre Dame-Central Michigan game next weekend at a site to be determined in the round of 16.

—————————–

In men’s soccer on Saturday, the Beavers defeated Washington 3-2 and Cal edged Stanford 1-0. That combination that enabled the Beavers to finish in second place in the Pac-10 with 15 points in coach Steve Simmons’ first year with the program.

I know it doesn’t get near the exposure, or generate anywhere near the interest, as football, but amazing things are happening in the OSU men’s and women’s soccer programs.

Now they just need a wealthy benefactor to step up with a $2-$3 million donation for a 1,500-seat stadium, to aid recruiting and so they can host future  NCAA games.

Tweet This Post 

Related posts:

1. Saturday update 7:30 p.m.
2. Saturday stuff; updated 1:35 a.m. Sunday
3. Brooks Hatch: Thursday update, OSU soccer
4. Brooks Hatch: OSU women’s soccer makes the NCAAs
5. Brooks Hatch: Monday, updated 5:10 p.m.